Have you ever noticed how many flowers and vegetables have the word “Love” or “Sweet” in their variety names? Quite a few!
If you are reading this blog there is a good chance you love gardening. AAS award-winning ornamentals are designed to not only enhance the beauty and attractiveness of your garden but also help pollinators. AAS award-winning vegetables are trialed for taste so when it’s a winner, you know it will be love at first taste! Maybe that’s why breeders use these endearing terms to name their new introductions as they are so appropriate.
Given the time of year, let’s get inspired by these AAS Winners that include the words “Love” or “Sweet” in their variety names!
Kiss your summer worries goodbye with the NEW Sweetheart Kisses Verbena!
This low-growing wonder, praised by AAS judges for its vibrant red, rose, pink, and a hint of white blooms, adds instant charm to any garden. Delicate, airy foliage (tenuisecta means “thinly cut”) forms a soft cushion, setting the stage for an explosion of color that lasts all season long.
Sweetheart Kisses thrives in sun-drenched days and dry spells. Plant this versatile plant in the ground, let it grow as a stunning groundcover, or fill your containers with its cheerful blooms. And the best part?
Sweetheart Kisses is a breeze to grow!
This personal-sized Asian watermelon is perfect for smaller families and smaller gardens.
Shorter vines (3-4′) still produce up to six fruits per plant and can be grown in smaller spaces. Several judges commented on the crack and split-resistant rinds, important for reducing crop loss.
For culinary purposes, this deep red-fleshed watermelon has a thin but strong rind that can be carved into attractive shapes for fruit salad presentations. Mini Love has a high sugar content resulting in sweet, crisp, juicy flesh.
A true summer delight for watermelon lovers.
Summery Love Pure White is a new torenia variety that wowed the judges for its pure white large blooms.
This variety bloomed consistently over a long, wet, hot, and humid summer and showed better vigor and health than other similar varieties that are currently available. “This [is a variety that] should be used in mass plantings for a great showing!” stated one judge.
At only 8 inches tall, Summery Love maintains a compact plant over the season but has more branches and more flowers.
A durable show of pure white color all summer long.
A beautiful perennial with robust, long-lasting blooms.
In the AAS Trials, it demonstrated excellent cold and heat tolerance and maintained a tidy, sturdy habit over the three-year trial. The cheery flowers are large and pure white, appearing earlier in the season than the comparison varieties.
The 5″ reflexed daisy blooms feature small feathery petals around golden yellow button centers. Leucanthemums are used for both cut flowers and garden highlights while also providing food and habitat for many kinds of pollinators.
Perfect perennial for any garden.
This cute, single-serving-sized squash is the perfect addition for a fall harvest.
Sweet Jade proved itself in the AAS Trials with its high yields and good holding capability which is great news for both home gardeners and growers. Each fruit is between 1-2 pounds and can be used for single servings of squash, as an edible soup bowl, or in any number of Asian-style dishes where a sweet, earthy nutritious squash is typically used.
Sweet Jade’s deep orange flesh is dry yet sweet and very flavorful whether roasted, baked, or pureed.
Time to give this sweetie a try!
A unique snacking pepper with four lobes like a larger bell pepper, only smaller.
Not only are the 3-inch fruits deliciously sweet with nice thick walls but the plants are vigorous growers (up to 36 inches tall and 15 inches wide) that don’t need to be staked because they’ve been bred to have a strong bushy habit.
Many judges conduct consumer taste tests and reported back that this pepper won those tests, hands down. The Just Sweet peppers are exceptionally bright, shiny, and a vivid yellow color with a flavor described as sweet with aromatic accents.
Great lunchbox item for your sweet kids!
Watermelons have come a long way!
From ancient wild watermelons in the African desert to today’s new selections, Cal Sweet Bush is another example of how ongoing breeding efforts result in a new and better product. This is a true short internode (the sections between the stem joints) watermelon.
These watermelons have compact, bushy vines that grow only 14-18” long and still provide enough foliage cover to protect the fruits. Each plant yields 2-3 fruits weighing 10 -12 pounds.
Cal Sweet Bush is a great watermelon choice for gardeners with limited space.
AAS Judges selected American Dream as their top Sweet Corn trial choice
And it just so happens to come from the same company that introduced Honey ‘N Pearl, an AAS winner from 1988. In a tight trial, American Dream was pitted up against Honey ‘N Pearl and came through as the winner!
With its excellent germination, and very tender, super-sweet kernels, this newbie will make a great addition to the home garden.
Enjoy the summer with American Dream!
A miniature bell pepper that is easy to grow.
With an excellent fruit set even under hot and humid conditions, this attractive plant is well-adapted to a container and small garden growing. Fruits can be harvested 60 to 70 days from transplanting either in green or red.
These small 3 oz cuties are 2.5 inches x 3 inches in size and are thick-walled, sweet, and flavorful. These peppers can be eaten fresh, grilled, stir-fried, or stuffed. The possibilities are endless.
As one judge said, “A cute way to introduce bell peppers to kids.”
